Bad Irish weather and why we should all embrace it is the theme of Galway 2020 European Capital of Culture’s first street mural.
The mural was unveiled in Galway city centre by TG weather presenter Caitlín Nic Aoidh for the Hope it Rains/Soineann nó Doineann project yesterday.
Galway-based artist Shane O’Malley has used hydro-chromic paint for an abstract image, the shape, size, geometric patterns, and colours of which change in reaction to rainfall.
The direction, intensity and amount of rain determine which version of the mural is visible, making it as changeable as the weather, artistic director and curator Ríonach Ní Néill explained.
Located on the corner of Church Lane and Shop Street, the mural named “Changes change” is a “visual barometer for pedestrians of patterns of rainfall and drought”, the project says.
Galway 2020 creative director Helen Marriage said the programme has been “built around the central themes of landscape, language and migration, and Hope it Rains | Soineann nó Doineann will work with local artists to address a constant of the Galway landscape”.
Ní Néill said her project is “challenging artists to create works that directly interact with and respond to the weather, and use it as a source of creativity.
“The project fosters a thoughtful approach which seeks the advantages of our mild, windy and wet weather, all the while building awareness of the need for immediate action to mitigate climate change,” she said.